Warhammer, Emperor's Chosen

The treasure vault aboard the Stellar housed a vast collection of artifacts accumulated by the von Valancius Dynasty over generations. These included a battle-hardened Leman Russ tank, a Valkyrie transport aircraft, a turret dismantled from an unknown source, and a variety of peculiar minerals, machinery, weapons, and other items from across the galaxy.

Most of these treasures had long histories, which also meant they were prone to damage, requiring regular cleaning and maintenance by servitors.

Servitors, in essence, were automatons created by surgically removing the cerebral cortex of a human and modifying the body extensively.

In the original storyline, these servitors would stage a rebellion, initiating the first battle.

As such, Noah's gaze remained fixed on the servitors, wary of any sudden attacks.

Unexpectedly, the battle he anticipated didn't happen, even after he left the vault.

The servitors continued to diligently perform their duties, repairing and maintaining the artifacts. Occasionally, one would turn and cast a blank, soulless gaze in their direction, but it was only for an instant, usually when the servitor needed to attend to another item.

Rather than feeling relieved, Noah grew uneasy. This deviation suggested that events might not unfold as he remembered!

Noah's heavy mood didn't last long, as shortly after leaving the vault, a servo-skull floated towards them, trailing a long prayer ribbon. A mechanical voice emanated from it:

"Noah von Valancius, Lady Theodora requests your presence in the captain's quarters. She will meet you shortly. Please follow me."

"Lady Theodora?"

Voigtvir's expression shifted slightly as he cast a surprised glance at Noah, clearly calculating something in his mind. He had only intended to use an excuse to bring Noah to the observation deck, never imagining that Theodora would personally invite him.

Noah was also taken aback but didn't show it. Shrugging, he replied, "Mr. Voigtvir, it seems we can't continue together."

"No problem. Please convey my regards to Lady Theodora," Voigtvir said with a smile, parting ways with Noah, who followed the servo-skull. Voigtvir continued toward the observation deck.

Unease gripped Voigtvir's heart. This turn of events was clearly outside his plans. He needed to figure out what was going on!

With a grim expression, Voigtvir strode through the wide corridor lined with red carpet.

When he arrived at the observation deck, the rogue trader Theodora was engaged in conversation with her trusted aide, the formidable Chief Warrior Mort, and another rogue trader heir. Around them, numerous servitors were busy performing maintenance work.

Voigtvir grew increasingly uneasy. If Theodora was here, why had she summoned Noah to the captain's quarters?

Something was definitely wrong!

"Lady Theodora!"

Voigtvir hurried past one servitor and stopped in front of another crouching servitor inspecting pipeline connections. He spoke in a low, serious voice:

"Did you summon Noah…"

Slash!

The servitor's modified engineering saw pierced his flesh, severing his spine and shredding his internal organs.

"Urgh…"

Voigtvir's voice cut off as he spat out a mouthful of blood in agony.

He saw the young man named Edsaid being ambushed from behind by another servitor, his head severed. Only then did Voigtvir realize the one attacking him was also a servitor, its second saw slicing cleanly through his skull.

To his dying breath, Voigtvir couldn't understand why he was dying.

He had prepared so thoroughly—smuggling hundreds of armed cultists onto the ship in secret, ready to seize the day and claim the title of rogue trader.

So why? Why had it come to this?

"Voigtvir!"

Theodora was also stunned, watching in disbelief as the two previously dutiful servitors beheaded both Voigtvir and Edsaid with precise coordination.

A servitor rebellion? But how could they fight so skillfully?

Theodora's cybernetic eye emitted a crimson glow as it not only processed her thoughts but also automatically locked onto targets.

Despite her shock, the battle-hardened rogue trader didn't waste any time. As soon as she saw the servitors rebel and kill her subordinates, she drew her inferno pistol and fired.

Bang!

The gun discharged streams of superheated energy, instantly melting the servitors' modified upper bodies and leaving glowing red craters on the steel deck.

Only the servitors' four mechanical legs, connected by remnants of flesh, collapsed weakly onto Voigtvir's mutilated corpse.

But as Theodora destroyed the two servitors, more swarmed in.

Her Chief Warrior roared, taking down several servitors, but their numbers were overwhelming. For every servitor they killed, two more filled the gap.

In mere seconds, the three of them were completely surrounded by a tide of servitors!

Yet the servitors, despite being slaughtered by Theodora, refrained from launching any further attacks.

They advanced relentlessly, seemingly indifferent to their own destruction, until Theodora began to suspect their true objective.

The next moment, she saw the observation deck doors open, and a horde of cultists armed with makeshift weapons stormed in.

They fired, cutting down the servitors with laser guns.

But they also struck down Theodora, her Chief Warrior, and the unfortunate heir.

-----------------------

"Mr. Noah, please wait a moment. Lady Theodora will arrive shortly."

Guided by the servo-skull, Noah reached the captain's quarters via a secret elevator. Seated on a luxurious, soft sofa, he observed his surroundings while the servo-skull hovered nearby, its eye sockets glowing crimson.

Noah rested his hand on his pistol, his gaze sweeping the expansive captain's quarters.

Skulls and Imperial double-headed eagle symbols adorned the room, and on the rogue trader's desk sat a slightly elongated skull—it belonged to an Eldar, a trophy from one of Theodora's expeditions.

Though the flagship had upgraded from a frigate to a cruiser, the captain's quarters hadn't changed much from his recollection.

Noah kept thinking, even as the plot spiraled out of control. He seemed to know where the problem lay—

The answer lay in his party roster, which now included a modifiable character.

[Nono]

[Homeworld: Stellar (Lunar-class cruiser)]

[Origin: C'tan (A seemingly ordinary shard of a C'tan)]

[Class: C'tan]

"Nono…"

Noah discreetly glanced at the hovering servo-skull.

What was Nono?

In simple terms, Nono was originally named Nomos, the machine spirit of the Stellar.

In more complex terms, Nono was a shard of a C'tan disguised as a machine spirit, acquired accidentally during a joint exploration with the Inquisition. In the original Rogue Trader storyline, Nono's consciousness was newly awakened and virtually a blank slate.

As the story progressed, depending on whether the protagonist leaned toward orthodoxy, liberalism, or heresy, Nono would be shaped into a different type of "Star Slave."

In a modded version of Rogue Trader, Nono even had a romance route, which Noah had pursued with a "cute and vanilla" mindset.

Finding the name Nomos unappealing, he had directly edited the game files to rename her Nono.

Some might question his preferences, but Noah justified it confidently—

If the game allowed a romance with Eldar, why couldn't he romance a C'tan?

As for the C'tan's gender—who's to say it couldn't be female?

Compared to Fulgrim being corrupted by a daemonette, romancing a C'tan was far more impressive!

The problem was, Nono wasn't supposed to appear until much later in the game.

So what was going on now?

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📢30 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

For advance chapters: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

3. A Second Playthrough Should Act Like One – Accelerate! Accelerate Hard!

4. Dead Yet? If Not, I'll Finish the Job.

5. The Queen is Dead, the King Shall Rise!

6. I Need to Regroup the Fleet.

7. The Orders Pronatus.